Royal Bolton Hospital send dad home but didn't tell him he was dying

A hospital has apologised to the family of a man who was discharged without being told he was dying from cancer. Tests taken at the Royal Bolton Hospital showed Trevor Roberts, 68, had terminal cancer.

A hospital has apologised to the family of a man who was discharged without being told he was dying from cancer.

Tests taken at the Royal Bolton Hospital showed Trevor Roberts, 68, had terminal cancer.

But he was discharged after two days without anyone telling him his terrible diagnosis.

It was only when he was taken to A&E a fortnight later that he learnt his prognosis. Doctors then said he was too frail to make the eight-mile journey home, where he would have wanted to spend his last days.

The blunder also meant he was unable to say goodbye to his grandchildren, who were away on holiday, unaware that he was gravely ill.

Mr Roberts, from Tyldesley, Wigan, died five days later.

Hospital bosses have blamed a breakdown in communication between staff on two different wards.

They have apologised to his wife Margaret and children, Sharon, Martin and Paul – saying lessons have been learnt and promising the mistake will never happen again.

The hospital has also paid the family a four-figure settlement.

Mr Roberts’ daughter, Sharon Taylor, 46, from Astley, said: “As far as I’m concerned things like that shouldn’t happen. This result provides us with a measure of closure. My dad was a devoted husband, father and grandfather and an important figure in all our lives.

“The rapid deterioration in his health took us all by surprise and we feel absolutely devastated about losing him so quickly and in such circumstances.

“The Royal Bolton made no attempt to contact us about my dad’s condition and the terrible results of the scan after he was discharged, which we are really angry about.

“Because we didn’t know his condition was so grave, my dad’s grandchildren were abroad on holiday in Turkey and were unable to say goodbye before he died. The whole family is heartbroken about that and still coming to terms with it.

“If action had been taken sooner, my dad could have been given more time with his family and would have had the opportunity to come to terms with his illness, put his affairs in order and say goodbye.” Grandfather-of-six Mr Roberts visited his GP complaining about painful lumps in July 2009 and he was admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital on August 1.

Although a scan carried out there showed cancer had spread through his body, neither he nor his family were informed about his condition.

He was discharged on August 3 but remained unwell and went to A&E at Salford Royal on August 16, where a doctor finally broke the devastating news.

Sarah Sharples, a medical law specialist at Irwin Mitchell, who represented the family, said: “Trevor’s wife Margaret, their children and grandchildren are all devastated about his death and wanted to know how someone could be sent home without being told that they are terminally ill.

“The lack of communication between departments is appalling.”

The Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has conducted an internal investigation into Mr Roberts’ care at The Royal Bolton Hospital, which concluded that he should not have been discharged from hospital until the results of his scan had been reviewed by a senior doctor.

The investigation also highlighted the need for clinicians to update patient files efficiently and to request updates on tests and scans once they have been carried out.

Dr Jackie Bene, medical director at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We fully accept that there were errors in communication made in Mr Roberts’ case in 2009 and have apologised to his family.

“We realise that we can’t alter the outcome for them, but we examined the circumstances carefully so that we could learn from where we wentwrong.

“This was a very sad situation that no family should have had to go through and which we regret deeply.”

Our newspapers include the flagship Manchester Evening News - Britain's largest circulating
regional daily with up to 130,485 copies - as well as 20 local weekly titles across Greater
Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire.

Free morning newspaper, The Metro, published every weekday, is also part of our portfolio,
delivering more than 200,000 readers in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Business Week is the region’s number one provider of business news andfeatures, targeting a bespoke business audience with 12,687 copies every Thursday.

Every month, M.E.N. Media’s print products reach 2.2 million adults, spanning from Accrington
in the north to Macclesfield in the south.